


Not the End of Me (this is the Beginning)

by Squirrel_Stone



Series: Infinite (Original Version) [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF ladies, F/M, Infinity Gems, Kind of crack kind of not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 03:18:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3311969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squirrel_Stone/pseuds/Squirrel_Stone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane learns that there was a very particular reason the Aether didn't kill her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not the End of Me (this is the Beginning)

**Author's Note:**

> My suite mate is smoking pot, I can't sleep, and I got this plot bunny.
> 
> Also, title from "I Believe" by Christina Perri

* * *

Jane loved living in Stark Tower. She got to hang out around all this cool science equipment, be with Thor, and Darcy was by her side. Yep, she absolutely loved it…

Okay, she hated it.

Maybe the altitude of her apartment or going from the penthouse to the basement daily or something else was giving her headaches. Bucky stole the scepter from SHIELDRA and brought it in a few weeks ago, and that was when her problems started. Of course, she completely ignored the theory that the scepter could be what was causing her problems. She’d rather listen to Darcy’s theory that she was dehydrated.

When she was called down to study it… yeah, that was a problem. She got to the third subbasement, and her head began to hurt worse than it had before. Her mind was rushing with knowledge. The scepter was an infinity sto—no it wasn’t it was part of the Tesser—it could mess with people’s—it was very defensi—no known person could touch the stone with their bare ha—

“Jane?”

The brunette turned her head to look at Thor, who had concern written all over his face.

“Are you alright?”

Jane faked a smile and nodded, untangling her fingers from her hair—when did that happen? “I’m fine,” she lied. “Just that little headache I’ve had for the past couple days.”

_Past couple weeks._

She left the elevator to see the scepter resting on a couple of prong-like holds, and Jane almost snorted. “You know, I saw a little video from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s security footage that had this kind of set up, and it ended with your brother appearing out of nothing and destroying half of New York.”

Her headaches were bumping her sass levels up to the point that they would make Tony proud.

Thor sighed, getting exhausted from his girlfriend’s mood swings. “Jane, if your head is hurting too much then—”

“I’m fine,” she repeated, walking up to the scepter and letting Thor follow behind.

“You need to be very careful when handling the scepter,” Thor reminded her gently. The other three scientists working in the room gave him looks that screamed ‘no duh.’

Jane put a vibranium glove on her left hand and reached out, plucking the stone from the scepter with ease.

One of the other three scientists spoke up. “How did you do that?” she asked. “We’ve been trying to get the stone out for weeks. Even when we opened the scepter, the stone wouldn’t budge.” There was a pause, the scientist waiting for Jane’s response. “Dr. Foster?”

Jane jumped, dropping the stone. She cursed and stooped down to pick it up, grabbing it with her bare right hand.

“JANE!”

The astrophysicist spun around. “What?” she asked ignorantly.

Thor stared on in shock, and Jane looked to the stone, realizing it was in her bare hand instead of the one wearing the vibranium glove. She transferred it immediately, more than a little confused as to what just happened.

“Maybe it could tell I was trying to do something good,” she muttered, trying to find reasoning to the fact that the stone didn’t hurt her. She put the stone back in the scepter and removed the glove before heading back to the elevator, one hand to her forehead.

The god of thunder looked from Jane to the three scientists and gave them a thumbs up—he’d seen Clint and Tony do it. “Keep up the good work,” he praised before chasing after Jane, who had taken to running her fingers through her hair again.

The elevator doors opened, and Jane stepped inside, ordering them to shut before Thor got there.

“Dr. Foster,” JARVIS’s animatronic voice came on over the loudspeaker, “Miss Lewis wishes to speak with you. She believes she has found a cure for your migraines.”

“Please, just get me to Thor’s and my floor,” she begged.

There was a pause. “I’m sorry, Dr. Foster, but Miss Lewis insists that it is urgent. I have been ordered to take you to her floor.”

Jane sighed, leaning against the wall of the elevator. Darcy had a way with the AI that no one else seemed to have, not even Tony. What Darcy wanted, JARVIS gave her.

As the elevator travelled up, Jane felt her pain in her head lightening, even if only slightly. When the doors opened, she walked out to see Darcy… standing with Loki.

“What’s going on?” Jane demanded. She looked back and forth between the two and realized Darcy had the Tesseract in one hand, and Loki was holding the stone in the scepter with a vibranium glove, likely the match to the one Jane had been wearing minutes ago.

Darcy gave her friend a little smile. “It’s kind of a long story,” she confessed.

Jane stared at the Tesseract and realized that Darcy was bare-handed. “Darcy, what is going on?” she repeated. “How is Loki here? Why do you have the Tesseract? Why can you _touch_ the Tesseract?”

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes, dropping the scepter’s stone over the top of the Tesseract. The two stones melded into one, filling the portion that seemed to be missing at the heart of the cube. “My job is done,” he declared before vanishing.

“Look, Jane, it’s a really long story, but if you just trust me—”

“You have. The Tesseract,” Jane snapped, venom in her voice. “You know, that thing that’s supposed to be on Asgard. That thing that almost resulted in the destruction of the planet.”

Darcy winced. “Okay, so… you’re making this difficult for me,” she replied. Without wasting another word, she tossed the Tesseract into the air, and it turned into a sort of mist.

Jane stared up at the blue air for a minute before it shot into her, knocking her off her feet.

Her headache was gone, but now her butt and back hurt. She let out a curse and got to her feet to see Darcy smiling at her. For a second, Jane wondered why, but then it came back to her. She grinned, too, and a little laugh escaped her.

“You are sneaky,” Jane commended. “I can’t believe you thought of becoming my intern.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “You make me sound like a fool by nature,” she joked. “I was pretty sure it was you at first, and then the Aether got to you, and I was sure.”

Jane giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. “This is seriously the best feeling in the world,” she confessed.

“Eh, go have sex with your boyfriend and we’ll see if you still think so,” Darcy shot back.

“Oh, I am so going to,” Jane agreed. “But quick question… was Loki working for you the whole time?”

Darcy only grinned. “Have fun,” she sang, waving Jane off to the elevator.


End file.
